THE BUZZ: EA has been hard at work trying to get other third-party publishers to be a part of their Origin digital distribution service. Today, the company announced 11 new partners.

EGM’s TAKE: Origin has been a hotly-argued new piece of the PC gaming scene. Some enjoy seeing another legitimate option arise for digital purchases, and like seeing Steam have more real competition. Others, meanwhile, aren’t a fan of EA’s service and/or business practices, and are getting increasingly annoyed at EA games showing up on Origin but not Steam.

For those who do like what Origin brings to the table, your options for games through the service will soon be increasing, as EA today announced that 11 new third-party publishers have joined on to publish games via Origin.

First up is Trion, whose MMORPG Rift is now available for purchase via the service. In addition to Rift, games will be coming to Origin from CD Projekt Red, Freebird Games, Recoil Games, Autumn Games, 1C Company, inXile entertainment, Paradox Interactive, Core Learning Ltd., and N3V Games in the coming months.

I’m sure—much like everything to do with Origin—the reaction to this announcement will be mixed. Those who enjoy the service will be glad to see more gaming options coming to it; others will be frustrated to see more publishers putting support behind Origin, thus insuring that it will continue to exist as a rival to Steam.

Eric L. Patterson got started via self-publishing game-related fanzines in junior high, and now has one goal in life: making sure EGM has as much coverage of niche Japanese games as can realistically be crammed in. Eric’s also active in the gaming community on a personal level, being an outspoken voice on topics such as equality in gaming and consumer rights. Stalk Eric on Twitter: @Eric_EGM. Meet the rest of the crew.